UK formally applies for TPP: Are Thailand, South Korea and China next?

Britain says the pact is a priority for the 'newly independent trading nation'

U.K. International Trade Secretary Liz Truss has formally requested to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership in a push to expand post-Brexit trade with the Asia-Pacific region. © Reuters

Nikkei staff writers

February 1, 2021 21:30 JST

Updated on February 2, 2021 00:46 JST

TOKYO/LONDON -- The U.K. formally asked Monday to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership in a push to expand and deepen the country's trade links with the Asia-Pacific region after leaving the European Union.

U.K. International Trade Secretary Liz Truss spoke with Yasutoshi Nishimura, Japan's minister for the pact and chair of the CPTPP Commission in 2021, and Damien O'Connor, New Zealand's minister for trade and export growth -- the country serving as the depository for official CPTPP documentation -- to get the ball rolling.